The continued increase of the population of the world has maintained regions in jeopardy of famine while, at the same time, pollution driven shortages of drinking water occur at alarming rates; therefore, the simultaneous reduction of nutrient cycling from agricultural runoff and significant enhancement of photosynthetic yields are of necessary benefits to humanity. Indeed, when fertilizers are injected into the soil, there is only 50% nitrogen fertilizer efficiency and 10% phosphorus efficiency, and the remainder becomes pollution. Thus, a solution to the problem of groundwater contamination is to feed plants essential nutrients through foliage such that fertilizers are not injected into the ground and by application of efficiently metabolized fertilizers.
In accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein, foliar input of nutrients is enhanced by a synergistic metabolism of organic and mineral components of coordination complexes. The synergistic organic component of the embodiment is a ketoester and by formulation at relatively high concentrations, the entire complex is rendered to amphipathic micelles that effect phase transfer of nutrients into nonpolar organic compounds typical of cuticular waxes of foliage. In addition, certain ketoesters are of transmembrane domains assuring penetrative transport across membranes and into a plant cell; thereby, highly efficient uptake of valuable nutritive elements is realized by the embodiments, disclosed herein. It would be of benefit to agriculture to reduce ground contamination by optimizing the uptake of foliar nutrient applications through these novel systems, as well. Taken together, input of levels of nutritive elements that are sufficiently concentrated to sustain growth, that is, applying otherwise phytotoxic levels without negative effect, is realized by embodiments of micellar coordination complexes disclosed herein.